README.markdown

My MSc dissertation 'Design and Analysis of a Gossip Algorithm', in which I present an algorithm for forming a dynamic, unstructured overlay in which each node can generate a stream of independent, uniformly distributed samples of the overlay membership. Such peer sampling services form the basis for a number of gossip algorithms implementing distributed search/recommendation, database replication, reputation management etc. As far as I am aware this is the first peer sampling service which provides any guarantees on the distribution of samples. The mathematical analysis is backed up by model checking in PRISM and test results for the reference implementation.